Finding Family
by Rosieobe
Summary: Luke Smith was downloaded with more than only 21st century human DNA. He knows that Sarah Jane loves him because he is human. That's why she kept him. He knows that there is something wrong with him, something different. So, when he dies and comes back, he runs away.
1. Prologue

Jack Harkness was alone, and always would be. He had never been good at forming meaningful relationships, but now, now that anyone and everyone he ever loved would die before he did, it was even harder. For a while, he'd held on to the hope that he would find someone else like himself, that he would be able to love someone, and be with them forever. But it would never be. He wouldn't find anyone like himself, he wouldn't be able to have a soulmate 'til death do us part', he would never have a proper family. It was, as the Doctor so charmingly put it, all because he was 'wrong'. Jack couldn't die, but, as he continually asked himself, was not dying the same as living? Could you live without loving?

Luke Smith was afraid. No one, not even his mum or Maria, had noticed yet, but he wasn't getting any older. He had been created a year ago now, and he was exactly the same as he had been when he was 'born'. Sarah-Jane had only adopted him because he was human, that's why she kept him, but Luke knew, he knew that he was different. Scientific journals stated that his body was supposed to be changing, his voice getting lower, more body hair, getting taller, even. Stuff that Luke had watched Clyde struggling to deal with over the year. Luke wasn't doing any of that. He was developing emotionally and mentally, but his physical body seemed to be stuck. Would he be human enough for his mum? For Maria? For Clyde?

**A Year Earlier**

"Jack!" Toshiko called through her earpiece. Jack himself was retrieving a piece of space junk that had fallen through the rift. The scanners had indicated it to be harmless, what Jack had found was a child's doll from Poosh. "Captain! I know it's out of our usual territory, but there are some very unusual reading cropping up around Ealing, in London?"

"Report."

"Well, there's a new company, it's called BubbleShock, I believe, and it has gotten approval on it's drink in under six weeks. Along with that, the sensors are picking up some unusual readings. No rift activity, but there are signs of some sort of alien tech in their facility."

Jack pulled up the advert on his computer, wincing at the obnoxious tune. Two words stuck out at him. 'Contains Bane.' "Tosh, tell me it didn't say 'contains Bane', please tell me it didn't."

"Sorry sir," Tosh replied, bemused, "it definitely says 'contains Bane'. That was another curious thing. I can't find any ingredient called 'Bane' anywhere…"

"That's because it isn't an ingredient," Jack interrupted, "it's an alien, Bane is a species of alien."

"They put alien parts into their drinks? That's disgusting." Tosh exclaimed. "Are we going then? Should I collect the team?"

"Yeah, tell everyone that we're going on a little road trip."

Of course, Owen had an alien to autopsy, and Gwen was still grounded from the sex-alien debacle. Three would be enough for a reconnaissance mission, though, if they needed backup they could call in Gwen and Owen later.

"So," Jack began suggestively, "what do you two kids want to do on the ride over?" Ianto sighed.

"Well," Tosh replied mildly, "I figured I would pull up the schematics of the BubbleShock factory, any extra information on the company, and anything we might have on the Bane, in order to put together a plan of action. As you are driving, I thought Ianto could help me."

"Of course," Ianto agreed quickly, "I would be pleased to assist in any way possible."

Jack pouted. "You're no fun."

"No," Tosh agreed, "we're not 'fun', not in the way you mean it."

It was a fairly simple mission. Ianto attempted to get in touch with the people in charge, Tosh got a sample of the drink and tested it, while Jack went on one of their guided tours to see what he could find out from the inside. He had been a bit wary about going through the scanner, but everything his scanners told him, said that it was only a scanner. It didn't even register his alien tech. There had been an emergency part way through the tour, and they were all ushered out, but Jack didn't get back on the bus, two girls were missing, he needed to see if they would be alright, plus, he wanted to see if he could figure out what the emergency was. However, about fifteen minutes later, he saw a boy, one of the missing girls, and a woman he knew as Sarah Jane Smith exit the building. He left quietly, going beck to the SUV.

"So?" Tosh asked, "Did you find anything?"

"Yes," Jack replied shortly, "the situation is under control. It's not our problem anymore, this falls under someone else's jurisdiction." Jack saw the question on their faces, and quickly cut them off. "Need to know only. Let's head back to the hub."

Jack didn't know that his information had been downloaded into the boy who would become Luke Smith. He didn't know that parts of his physiology from the 51st century were a part of Luke Smith. Because, as Ms Wormwood said, every strength, every weakness was a part of Luke. And what was stronger then the ability to come back from the dead?


	2. Chapter 1

**The First Death of Luke Smith**

The first time Luke died, Mr Smith was using him to pull the moon towards the earth. He was only gone for a moment, in fact, Luke was unsure if Mr Smith even noticed, but Luke knew he'd been dead. His synapses had been overworked, and he had been dead. Of course, as Mr Smith didn't stop using his brain to destroy the earth, it looked as if he was heading in that direction a second time, but his mum had come and taken care of it all, as always. Everyone was celebrating. They had stopped the end of the world, Luke didn't, and never would have any parents out there looking for him, and Mr Smith wasn't going to be evil anymore, once he'd rebooted, anyway. But Luke felt sick inside. He'd known that he was different for a good while now, he wasn't growing, wasn't changing, hadn't even gotten pimples, but now he knew. He wasn't human, at least not all human. Sarah Jane wouldn't love him anymore.

Luke snuck upstairs, packing a bag quickly. He had to leave, he wasn't human, so Sarah Jane wouldn't want him anymore. He didn't belong here, on Bannerman road, not anymore. Not when he wasn't human. When he couldn't be Sarah Jane's son an longer.

He'd run away. Of course, he'd leave a note, explaining what had happened to him, how he wasn't human. He didn't want them to worry about him, and they wouldn't, not after learning that he wasn't who they thought he was.

It was cold. Luke had been on the streets for about a month now, evading the police, trying to forget his mum, and Maria, and Clyde. He couldn't get close to anyone, he was wrong, he wasn't human, and he could put them in danger. Sometimes, when someone smiled at him on the street, he struggled to remember that he couldn't make friends, but all he had to do was remember how he had given the key to destroying the earth to the Slitheen, how he had nearly pulled the moon into the earth, and he never wanted to get close to anyone again. He was dangerous. He couldn't get close to anyone, they would use him to destroy, to kill, or he would put them in danger. He wasn't normal, and he didn't have the luxury of pretending he was. He ran, getting as far away from everyone as possible.

Ianto hurt. The cannibals had just finished 'tenderizing' him. He knew that he'd done the right thing, helped Tosh to escape, but the cannibals were worse than anything he'd met before, and Ianto was scared. At least the cybermen had the excuse of their emotions being removed, these people were exactly that, people. And they tortured people and ate them for fun.

"Who are you?" Whispered a young voice. Ianto attempted to look around, forgetting that he had a bag over his head. "I'm under the table. They haven't gotten around to me yet. Think I'm too skinny. They've been fattening me up for the past week or so."

Ianto attempted to speak, his lips swollen, and his jaw sore. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because," the boy whispered, "I don't want to forget you once you die. The people going through here…they deserve to be remembered by someone. Even if it is only until they kill me too. If I can escape, or get rescued…I can pass on messages. I've got one from everyone who's passed through since I got here. Tommy Brighton, to his girlfriend, 'I love you. Even if I couldn't say it before, I do.' Annie Black, to her parents, 'There are letters for Riley, once he's old enough in my diary. Raise my son to be a good boy. I love you.' Celia Gordson,"

"That's enough." Ianto interrupted. He continued even more quietly. "You'll get out. I'm with the police, they'll get here eventually. They might not get here in time for me, but you'll get out of here, promise."

"The police?" The boy whispered. "You mean…someone's noticed? They…they said that no one would ever notice, that we would be forgotten. That…that…" the boy trailed into sobs. Ianto couldn't think of a thing he could do to comfort him.

There was rustling in the passage. Ianto heard Gwen, then Tosh and Owen. His heart sank. No one, not even the little boy, was getting out of here alive.

Luke had been living off the land, foraging for food in the Welsh countryside when he'd been caught. He had been on his own for six weeks, living off mushrooms and bulbs for the past eight days, so he was too skinny for the cannibals to eat yet. He felt like he was living the story of Hansel and Gretel, only it wasn't sweetened up for children, and his captors weren't as easily duped.

By the third week of his captivity, he'd started gaining a bit of weight, and five people had died in front of him. The last one had screamed for what seemed like hours, she had been so frightened, and Luke couldn't do anything. He was chained to a table, the table where they worked, and blood had soaked into every inch of his clothes.

At three and a half weeks, two new people were brought into the room. He closed his eyes, scrunched himself up into a ball, and pretended he wasn't there. He knew he would ask for their names, ask for a message he could pass on, but not yet. He didn't want to acknowledge that he had to watch two more people die. He wanted to help them, but there's only so much a fourteen year old kid can do, even if he did have the brain power of ten thousand people. Even if he couldn't die. Neither of those gifts were any good against handcuffs and chains, he didn't have a lock pick, and, while his brain could calculate how much pressure was needed to break the chains, where the best spot to apply said pressure, there was still the simple fact that he couldn't supply anywhere near that amount of pressure, that amount of force. He was helpless, useless.

Luke watched in amazement as the new man helped the woman escape. Luke attempted to calculate the odds of her being able to get away, to get help, but he came up disappointed. While there were too many variables to get a definite answer, no matter how he stacked the situation in the woman's favour, the odds were still too small to be of any comfort. Based on her accent, she wasn't from around here, she was still tied up, and it was nighttime outside. Luke sighed, and filled his head with memories of Maria, Clyde, and Sarah Jane. They were a bit bitter sweet, as Luke knew they no longer loved him back, but they were better than listening to the man getting beaten by the cannibals. There would be time to ask the man for his name and last message later. For know, all Luke wanted to do was escape into his own mind, to days gone by, of happier time when he could debate theories with Mr Smith, and get lessons on how to be 'cool' from Clyde, save the earth from the dangerous aliens, and befriend the nice ones.

Jack rammed through the building with the tractor he'd stolen, shooting at the cannibals who'd captured his friends. Once everyone who wasn't his team were down on the ground and not moving, Jack lowered his weapon, before going around to each of his team and cutting the ropes that bound their hands.

"Did I shoot anyone I'm not supposed to?" Jack asked shortly. He really hoped none of the people he'd shot were actually other victims, he'd gone for the shoot first, ask questions later approach.

Ianto checked quickly under the table, finding a young boy, presumably the owner of the voice that had talked to him earlier, handcuffed and chained to the table. He was covered in blood.

"Oh…my…," Ianto gasped, "Owen! Owen, get over here!"

Owen practically ran over, neatly avoiding the villagers on the floor.

"Oh crap," Owen swore, "Kid, it'll be okay. We're getting you out of here. Were you shot? Do you know where all that blood is coming from?"

Luke gulped. He presumed that these were the man's police team. He couldn't get caught by the police, not if he didn't want to be tested on, or used. He knew he had a few cuts, all on his hands, from either the handcuffs, where he'd struggled against the metal, or the scalpel that they had dropped once. He'd tried to pick the lock for hours, cutting up his hands in the process, but he couldn't do it, and eventually his captors had noticed and the tool had been taken away. They were all pretty minor, he could probably handle them by himself. A few cuts were better then if the police found out that he wasn't normal.

"The blood isn't mine, sir." Luke answered quietly. "It…it…they didn't move me before killing the other people. They were…cut up on the table. The blood dripped."

Owen was horrified. Even if the kid wasn't physically injured, he'd taken enough psych courses in university to know that the kid would probably be messed up for life. He looked…twelve? Thirteen?

"Sir? Um, Owen? I'm fine, but you should probably check on your friend. They beat him up pretty badly."

Ianto was in the process of falling over when Owen turned around to check on him. Jack leapt over and caught him before his head hit the floor. Owen hurried to check on him.

Toshiko had been watching the proceedings carefully. It was important to have someone focussed on the bigger picture during a mission with hostile captives. The cannibals could still try something, even if Jack did shoot them. She noticed the boy struggling with his chains, and caught Gwen's attention.

"Watch the lowlifes. I'll go free the boy." Gwen nodded, and backed up against the wall, so she could watch everything at the same time.

Tosh looked around for a key to the handcuffs, it had been easy for Jack to free his four team mates, all he had to do was cut the ropes, but the boy was tied up in pounds of thick chain and handcuffed on top of that.

"Hello sweetie," Tosh murmured to the boy, "do you know where the keys to your handcuffs are? I can pick the lock on the chains, but the handcuffs are a bit too delicate for any tools I have on hand."

"It's on top of that cabinet over there." Luke whispered. He would have to run for it, when the rest of them were busy. They were still guarding the cannibals, if he ran for it, they'd definitely notice. No, it would have to be when they started moving the villagers. They wouldn't be watching him as closely then. He just had to remain free until then.

"Got it!" Tosh called. She returned with the key quickly. "And here we…" she trailed off, key inches from the handcuffs. "I thought you said that you weren't hurt." She accused.

"They didn't hurt me." Luke muttered. They hadn't. All his injuries were his fault.

"Well, what do you call the cuts on your hands? Owen! Once Ianto's stable, get back here, would you?"

Owen turned around from where he was bent over Ianto, and moved over to Tosh. "There's nothing more I can do for him. He's stable, got some nasty bruises and a couple broken ribs. I wrapped those. All he needs is some rest and some pain meds now."

"That's good. Now, what I want to know is why this child has cuts all over his hands, but says that he wasn't injured?"

Owen inspected Luke's hands. "These are all self inflicted. Probably made while trying to get his hands free. If he's in enough shock, he might not have noticed."

Tosh immediately melted. "Poor kid. It must have been horrible. Can I free him safely?"

Owen looked back down at Luke's hands. "It looks like some of them might have scabbed over the cuts. They'll have to be reopened anyway, to be treated, who knows what kind of crud they scabbed over. It'll hurt 'im though."

"Get them off." Luke pleaded. They had noticed, but maybe if he promised to get someone to look at his hands he could still escape. "Please, I don't care if it hurts, just get them off me!"

"Ok sweetie." Tosh agreed. She unlocked the handcuffs, and looked to Owen.

"I'll take 'em off for 'im Tosh." Owen took pity on her. He reached down, and tugged them off quickly. Like when removing a bandaid, sometimes one quick shock is better than a long, drawn out process. Tosh moved to the lock on the chains.

"Ah, this lock is pretty easy. It'll just take…" The lock clicked. The villagers may have taken most of Tosh's things, but she still had hairpins.

"Oh," Owen muttered, "a woman of many talents, are you, Tosh."

"Don't you know it, Owen Harper." joked Toshiko.

Luke wriggled out of his constraints, standing up as quickly as possible, only to pitch forwards, head first. Owen caught him easily, holding on to his shoulders.

"Oh, easy there, kid. How long have you been sitting down there?"

Luke thought about it. "Well, they caught me three and a half weeks ago, and tied me up like this three days in, so…about three weeks?"

Owen's eyebrows raised. "Three weeks? No wonder you're a bit wobbly. You'll probably need to take it easy for a bit. You really need to get yourself checked out. Might need physiotherapy for a bit, as well as antibiotics, and maybe…how have they been feeding you, kid? You look a bit peaky."

Luke decided to tell the truth, or as much of it as possible. The man from earlier, Ianto, had said that they were police. They might be able to tell if he was lying. "They've been trying to fatten me up, really. I think it was mostly healthy enough, no…people, anyway."

Tosh went positively green at the thought. It hadn't occurred to her that they might have fed the boy human flesh.

"It was a delicacy to them, didn't want to waste it on me. The food they fed me was a bit fatty, greasy if you'd prefer, but…but they said healthier people taste better."

Owen struggled to remain professional. "Well, you must have been a twig when they found you, if you're only this big now. You should check for malnutrition too."

Luke could hear sirens coming. His chance to escape would be coming soon! "Thank you, sir." He saw Jack pick up Ianto to take him to the ambulances. Saw Owen rush off to check that his boss wasn't jarring anything important. Saw Tosh checking on the cannibals. Soon. Luke could run soon.

"Wait." Jack said, stopping in his tracks. "You, boy…" Luke froze, his heart pounding. Jack passed Ianto carefully to Owen, and came stalking over to Luke's side. The man breathed deeply. "It's almost not there, so covered up with fear, and blood and death. How…how on earth, do you have 51st century pheromones?"


	3. Chapter 2

**Meeting Torchwood: Who are you, What are you, and How are you Possible?**

"What do you mean?" Luke asked cautiously. He didn't know anything about 51st century pheromones, but the Bane had made him to simulate humans from the 21st century, and the research Luke had read back at Sarah Jane's house said that while baby humans have the ability to detect pheromones, adult humans do not. So, even if Luke did have weird pheromones, how did that man detect them?

"I don't really have time for a genetics lesson today." Jack answered impatiently, "Besides, you're the one that's got them. I would like you to tell me how, now."

Luke was panicking. He didn't know how much these people knew, who they were, what they would do with him. He wasn't even really sure about the social rules of conduct for the situation, and so went with Clyde's motto. 'When in doubt, deny everything.' "I couldn't possibly know what you mean, sir."

"That's it." Jack lost his patience. "You're coming with us, now." Jack moved over and grabbed Luke's arm, dragging him away.

"Hey!" Luke shrieked, struggling, "What are you doing! Let go of me!"

"Jack!" Toshiko yelled after them. "He's just a boy!"

Jack looked back at her. "No, Tosh, he's not. I don't know what he is, or where he came from, but he most certainly is not, just a boy."

Luke was brought into the hub three hours later, wearing handcuffs once more. Jack immediately hustled him into one of the spare cells.

"Tell me what you are!" Jack demanded. "How did you get here?"

Luke was on the verge of sobbing, his breath hitching at his throat. He couldn't tell them what he was, he just couldn't! They were obviously one of the military teams that worked to defend humans against the earth, Sarah Jane had never liked them, always saying that their tactics were wrong, that there was a better way to deal with alien encounters. Who knew what they would make him do if they knew of his abilities? Besides, he wasn't sure about what he was anymore anyway, he couldn't answer the man's questions if he wanted to.

"I don't understand!" Luke yelled angrily, attempting to mask his fear, "What do you want from me? I'm normal, I promise!"

"What do we want from you?" Jack murmured calmly, the switch from enraged to cool and collected frightening Luke more than the man's rage ever could. "We want to know what you are. If you're a threat. And, as the Torchwood motto goes, 'if it's alien, it's ours.' I'll leave you here to think about that for a minute."

Jack went back upstairs to the main part of the hub, where he found Owen and Tosh watching the boy in his cell.

"Has he done anything interesting yet?" Tosh merely huffed and looked away from him. "Ooh, the silent treatment, is it? Very mature of you, Tosh." Owen practically ran to his autopsy room. He didn't want anything to do with that argument.

Tosh burst, "He's crying! He's only a boy, Jack, and he was held captive by cannibals for weeks, with evidence of being malnourished before then, and then he was kidnapped, locked up, and yelled at. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking, that he definitely isn't human, or at least not a modern, normal human, and he could be dangerous! Aliens can be deceiving, people in the future can be dangerous! Or haven't you stopped enough apocalypses to understand that yet?"

"Of course I know that, Jack! But don't we usually try to get along with them first? Innocent until proven guilty?" Tosh replied, just as angrily as before.

"Just because he looks innocent doesn't mean he is, Tosh. I don't know if you've noticed, but the kid hasn't answered any of my questions yet. If that doesn't look guilty, I don't know what does."

"Yes, he has! He keeps telling you he doesn't know. Have you considered the fact that he might be telling the truth? All we have on him, is that you think he smells funny. Maybe your nose is wrong."

"It's not, Tosh, trust me. There's something off about that kid, and I'm not letting him go until he answers my questions."

"Fine." She muttered, "just…don't hurt him, okay? Something tells me he's just a kid. If he is lying…well, kids do that when they're scared."

"Go home, Tosh." Jack ordered kindly. "You've had a rough day." Tosh looked willing to protest, until Owen rejoined the group.

"I'll be here Tosh." He assured her. "I got off pretty easy today, comparing to you, or Gwen or Ianto. I'll make sure the kid's alright."

"You sure?" Tosh asked speculatively. She didn't really see Owen caring much.

"Hey, he's a patient. I spent my time diagnosing him, I'm not going to make him worse. Besides, Hippocratic Oath."

"Doesn't stop you from shooting people."

"It'll stop me from shooting a patient. Trust me, Tosh. You'll see the kid, safe and sound in the morning."

"Alright. I'm trusting you, Owen. Live up to my expectations."

Luke looked around his cell. It was rather sparse, and seeing how they hadn't removed his handcuffs, there wasn't anything in its design that he could use to escape. He really hoped that the 'Jack' man wouldn't come back down. These people were obviously some military organization that fought aliens, based on the many species of creatures he's walked past on his way to his cell. Sarah Jane hadn't liked the military organizations. Just because she didn't love him anymore, didn't mean that he would stop trying to make her proud. In fact, he would try harder, as it would take more to make her proud, now that he couldn't be her son. Jack seemed intent on finding out what he was, and while Luke was rather interested in knowing that as well, he couldn't let them find out. They would want to use his brain, he could give them power that they couldn't access without him. What if they had some of those telekinetic headsets? Luke couldn't imagine the destruction he could cause if they got him into one of those. He had almost crashed the moon into the earth last time, and if these 'Torchwood' people got him into a similar situation, Sarah Jane wouldn't be there to save the world. He'd seen the entrance. They had a deadlock seal. Even with her sonic lipstick, Sarah Jane wouldn't be able to get to them. No, he wouldn't tell Jack anything. It was much too dangerous.

Owen watched as the boy sat, unmoving within the cell. The scans that were monitoring the boy indicated absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. He was a fourteen year old boy, perfectly normal, aside from his medical conditions.

"Jack, the kid's perfectly normal. Fourteen years old, several medical conditions. He's not physically a danger to anyone. Well, except himself. He needs medical attention."

"I'm coming too. I'm not leaving him alone with you."

"Whatever. As long as I'm able to look him over."

"Mmm. Look for anything unusual that the scans might have missed while you're at it, would you?"

"Sure, Jack. But remember, I'm on the Right's for the Squirt Team tonight, or Tosh'll rip my head off and feed it to you."

"Hmm, not sure if that's really where I want your head, Owen. In fact, I can think of several better places for it …"

"Oh, shut up, Jack, it's gonna be a long enough night as it is. We're almost there."

Luke could hear two of the men coming. They didn't use torture anymore, did they? It was against the law, that's for sure, but seeing how they thought he was an alien, maybe he had different rights? Maybe he didn't have any rights. Luke hated not knowing things. He had read up on all the current scientific discoveries, current events, memorized the key points in history, could quote British Law, could calculate anything, knew most of the classics, and had started making his way through Mr Smith's files on alien's and alien technology. He'd even been taking 'classes' with Clyde, and, to a lesser extent, Maria, on how to blend in to the teenage populace. But he didn't know what to do in this situation. He had nothing to compare it to, he had no materials to work with, and no one to call for help. He'd read a little in Mr Smith's files on Torchwood, and what he knew wasn't promising. As Jack had said, their motto was 'if it's alien, it's ours.' If they found out that he wasn't normal, they would lock him up forever, experiment on him. If they found out that he couldn't die…goodness knows what they would do, both with him, and if they managed to recreate his ability. He had read up on Canary Wharf, he knew what had happened. Torchwood wasn't trustworthy. They had caused that tragedy, they could cause another one; Luke wasn't going to help them do it. Not ever. Sarah Jane would be so disappointed if he did.

"Kid?" Owen called cautiously. The boy was simply lying there, curled up on the padded bench in the cell. "Kid? It's Doctor Owen Harper. You need to come with me, so I can look you over."

Luke's breath caught in his throat, and he vaguely recognized the signs of impending hyperventilation. They were going to 'look him over'. Sarah Jane had saved him from UNIT, because she thought that they would experiment on him. They couldn't, could they? A single choked reply came bursting through his throat. "No!"

Jack and Owen backed up quickly, even, Jack, who wasn't feeling particularly friendly towards their newest visitor didn't want to scare him. Just make sure he wasn't a threat. Owen looked at Jack helplessly. The kid needed treatment, but it was hardly going to help much if the he had a panic attack, or injured himself trying to get away.

"What do you think is making him panic like that?" Owen asked him eventually.

Jack contemplated a while, before spouting off suggestions. "Could be Iatrophobia? No, he wasn't this scared of you in the countryside. Perhaps it's left over from when he was a captive of those disgusting cannibals. Maybe they would give him check ups? See if he was…ready?"

"Yeah," Owen agreed, "second one seems more likely. Maybe he wouldn't be too opposed to me treating him down there, as long as I explained everything I was doing, and its purpose. You wouldn't get your extra scans…"

"Not pressing. I'd like those scans eventually, but, as Tosh said, there's no proof he's dangerous. It can wait a bit, 'til he's more comfortable."

"Great. I need to go mop up is wrists, get those handcuffs off, and get him on a proper diet. We might need to have Tea Boy get more than take away and pizza for a while. The kid needs real food, not junk."

"Aww," Jack nearly cooed, "is ickle Owiekins going all Mommy bear on the kiddywinkie?"

"Just being a good doctor, Jack. Anyway, speaking of the kid, shouldn't we figure out who he is?"

"Mm. I'll run a search. You ask him for his name while you're down there."

"Sir, yessir."

The two men had come and gone. They had been talking about experimenting on him, and had simply left when he said 'no'. Clyde would probably call them pushovers if he was with him, Luke thought, that or he'd simply be relieved. It was easier, however, to remember Clyde Langer as the cool kid than to remember how he was when he was worried for him. It reminded him of how Clyde wouldn't care anymore, not now that he was an alien, and that hurt. Luke missed having people care about him.

Suddenly, Luke heard a cart rolling down the hallway. Perhaps they were bringing dinner? They would feed the creatures in their cells, wouldn't they? Luke didn't think that the aliens in the cells looked emaciated, but none of them were of a variety he'd met before, or even researched with Mr Smith, perhaps these ones were extremely skinny for their kind, maybe they were supposed to be…

Owen entered the cell with all the equipment he had deemed necessary for the check-up, interrupting Luke's increasingly panicky train of thought.

"Hey, kid. You freaked out quite a bit when we suggested coming up for a check up, but, as you really need one, I figured a compromise was in order."

"No. I don't…I don't want…I'm normal, you don't need to…" Luke was freaking out. They were going to cut him up down here! It wasn't sanitary! He could think of at least seventy five different infections that he could contract if any of the reddish slime in the corner touched his bloodstream.

"Okay," Owen placated, "well, at least let me take off those handcuffs. I don't want your wrists getting any worse. And while I'd like to do a couple tests…" Owen finally realized what was wrong when Luke flinched at the word 'tests'. "No, kid, I promise, we don't experiment on aliens here. I promise. I just wanted to get a blood sample to see if I needed to add any specific supplements to your diet, or if you just needed to eat more."

Luke shook more. "I ate fine. They…they fed me lots."

Owen felt like both a jerk and an idiot at the same time, a first for him, even though enough people had called him both, on regular intervals throughout his entire adult life. The cannibals. Even if the boy was an alien, who said aliens didn't get traumatized? He may not have taken many psych courses in uni, but he'd taken enough to know that you're not supposed to mention feeding someone who was force fed by cannibals for three weeks, in an attempt to make the child fat enough to eat. "I'm sorry kid. Let's get you out of those handcuffs."

"Thank you." Luke mumbled quietly. When Dr. Owen started swabbing at his wrists with rubbing alcohol, he didn't protest. While Jack might be scary and someone Luke should definitely look out for, Owen seemed okay. He seemed to want to help him get better, even if that was only because he was a good doctor. Luke had noticed that the man cared before Jack had classified him as 'alien', and the trait seemed to extend to potential aliens as well. Even if the man had no social skills to speak of, Luke didn't care. He'd made a few too many social miscalculations to judge.


End file.
